TMW - The C4 Picasso, one of the best cars that money can buy, and one we will return too.

Citroen, since it launched the C4 Picasso many years ago has had a huge success story on its hands, and today, with the new version, it is a true, awesome product, the model that we had on test was the Flair, 130 PT, it came with a column gear change, something that any Merc auto owners would be aware of, but for us, this was a first, but you soon get used to the extra stalk on the column, and flicking it from drive to reverse and back etc came very easily after a couple of days.

The car itself was rather large, and this was not the Grand Picasso, there was so much space, and glass, that you never felt enclosed or like you were in a cocoon, the new look of the car which has minor facelifts to the front and rear, as well as being richly endowed with kit and toys, meant you were always feeling like the car could drive its self, and it does, Believe me, all will become clearer.

But lets start with the outside, the car in its basic shape was revamped to make this mark three version the best it has ever been, now, whether you consider the Xsara Picasso as MK1 or not, is irrelevant, because that car was so successful, and sold is huge numbers that it soon expanded into a C3 Picasso, C4 Picasso, and if rumour is right there may well, be yet another new one, but the car here was launched in 2006, reskinned in 2013 and given a facelift late in 2016, which is the model we have here.

The car is very much like a Tardis, especially in the blue colour of our test car, there is just so much space and room inside the car that any normal family will find this car perfect for their needs, the new lights on the outside with a few other tweaks and nips and tucks should be enough to take it to an all new model in the next few years, but it does not stop there.

The car is so well laid out, with all the buttons and switchgear all within easy reach, easy to understand and simple to understand what each one does, this car benefits from a central display, so that the steering wheel can be placed either side, with ease, well, for Citroen anyway, and with the central display always in the middle you soon get used to it, and forget that the vast majority of cars will have these displays right in front of you.

The vast amount of glass in the car gives it a very airy and light demeanour, from the extra big windscreen, the full length glass roof, and the big windows all around the car, the roof window comes with a dial for the "curtain" which will move it to certain specified positions, all cars should have the glass roof, it is a perfect option, well, until some person decides to try and break in.

The car comes seriously well equipped, with so many gadgets and toys, one being the road line monitoring sensors, now before i go any further i will say "DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME", but for your benefit i tried it, at a steady speed, i removed my hands from the steering wheel, only just though, and as the car moved towards the lines in the road, either at the side or in the middle, the car took over and "nudged" back into the lane you were in, after a short while, it will bong at you and a message on the screen states that you should put your hands on the steering wheel.

But the system really does work well, even with the hands on the wheel, you can feel the force on the car moving you back into the middle of you part of the road, added in with one of the most simple and easy to use cruise control options, it keeps the car on the straight and narrow, but do be warned, any damage to the road markings, or being covered by detritus, and the system will get confused quickly.

Driving the car and you always feel like it is under control, at all times, it grips very well, and you never feel any under or oversteer, which you can get with other big cars, the auto box copes well at all speeds, and considering this car is ONLY a 1.2 litre, albeit turbocharged, you would be easily forgiven for thinking that this car has a far bigger engine, the computer stated at one point we managed to get nearly 43mpg, which was not bad considering that most of the journeys were short and of less than 5 miles, the brakes were also well upto the job, with it being able to stop on a penny if and when required.

Our car came well specified as already mentioned, but it did come with 

• Massage front seats
• electronic Multiple direction moving of front seats
• manual moving of the rear seats
• Cruise Control
• Lane Assist
• ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Emergency Braking Assistance (EBA)*
• Front and rear electric windows with anti-pinch and one-touch operation*
• Fan speed adjustment for rear seat passenger air vents*
• Park Assist
• Motorised rear tailgate
• Blind spot monitoring system (with LED indicator in door mirrors)
• Integrated retractable rear side window sun blinds
• Aluminium front sill scuff protectors*
• Three separate full size seats in row 2*
• Adjustable recline angle on row 2 seats*
• Individual fold flat rear seats in row 2*
• Illuminated (and switchable) central storage compartment (housing aux-in, USB and 12v connections)*
• Panoramic sunroof (with dark tinted glass and electric sliding blind)
• Auto-dimming electrochrome interior rear view mirror
• Panoramic windscreen
• Front fog lights
• LED daytime running lights
• Automatic lights and windscreen wipers
• Removable centre storage box with sliding lid*
• Fixed centre storage box with sliding lid*
• 12 inch Panoramic HD central display (full colour)
• Front and Rear Parking Sensors

And this is just a small amount of the items that are fitted to our car, so, as you can see, this is a well specified car, at a reasonable price, yes £27,315 is a lot of money, but when you get this much car for the money, it becomes quite a bargain.

The 111g/km CO2 is not a bad figure for the size of the car, and its economy in fuel consumption is also not that bad either, again, considering it is only a 1.2 litre Turbo.

• Urban Cycle 44.1mpg
• Extra Urban 64.2mpg
• Combined 55.4mpg

And i believe that these are achievable, and not just pie in the sky numbers that other brands release..

OVERALL

The Picasso is a brilliant car, in fact it is passed brilliant and onto a separate level where exceptional cars live, it does everything that you ask of it, and then far more besides, you can live with this car regardless of what you ask of it, its well priced, very well equipped, economical and cheap to insure and own.

Now, unless you have huge loads, this car will take everything you throw at it, it is like a massive cave, that just keeps on going, and the comfort, talk about armchair, even the passenger front seat has an extension so you can put your feet up, then you have the tech, from keeping the car in the right lane, to self parking, auto lights and wipers and so much more, this car has it all, and believe me when i say that we were so impressed by this car, that when we are due to change one of our own cars, which also happens to be a Citroen, a Cactus, the C4 Picasso will be one of the cars we return to.

So, if you are in the market for a car like this, then this is the one to go for, dont bother looking at any other brand, just stay here and get the Picasso, after all, in our opinion, it is far and away the best car out there.